The Arts Pillar focuses on the diversity of the artist and the creations they bring to life, regardless of artistic disciplines (beyond disciplinary). We engage in projects that are unique, unconventional, and invite exploration for both the creator and the audience – for instance, site-specific works or those that are audience/context sensitive. We believe in the guiding role of art and, consequently, in the responsibility of artists to promote social and environmental sustainability.
Our idea of the artist of the present and future
The qualities listed below are those that we believe define the ideal artist of the present and future:
Our Collaborative Efforts
In our collaboration, we aim to support development in these areas. In our EU Digital Deal project, beyond exploring the artistic potential of AI applications, we also address the impact of digitalization on democracy. Meanwhile, in Please Ask!, we experiment with how science can be communicated through theatre, and how this can be made relevant across the entire age spectrum of the family.
I’ve been working with theatre, drama, and contemporary dance since my teen years, and I started to think about the educational aspects of these relatively early. Which made me ponder how I could reach the highest level of participation. This curiosity took me on a journey through the fields and forms of youth theatre, theatre-in-education and community circus. Meanwhile, I graduated from my master’s in intercultural psychology and education at ELTE, where I have been learning about the theoretical background, and at MáSzínház, where I have been working with children and adults affected by intellectual disabilities and neurotypical ones as well. I can experiment on the field. I believe everything can be created in a way that allows anyone to contribute and take value out of it. Performing arts is especially a great universe for that since it arises from the encounter between individuals, creators-creators, and creators-spectators/participants. As the Head and Heart of PP Arts, I’ll work to invite many artists to explore how much they can give and how much they can get from their audience – or community.
My professional background spans over a decade of experience in youth work, cultural project management, and facilitation in various international contexts, particularly through EU-funded programs such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Here at Pro Progressione I am excited to focus on supporting interdisciplinary, innovative, and socially engaged art projects that align with my passion for using culture to create meaningful connections and foster sustainability.
Outside of work, I have a lifelong dedication to arts, particularly through dance and singing. I used to do Hungarian folk dance, recently I’m passionate about swing dance and I sing in a pop music choir. These pursuits have not only been a source of personal inspiration but have also shaped my approach to cultural projects by emphasizing collaboration and creativity. I am also deeply passionate about travel, as it has allowed me to engage with diverse cultures, artistic expressions, and perspectives, further enriching my understanding of the arts and their societal impact.
OASis (Open Art Spaces in Synergy) is a three-year (2024–2027) European project aimed at making art more accessible by establishing a network of open and interdisciplinary creative spaces across 10 countries. Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme, the project is implemented by a unique consortium comprising 14 diverse institutions, including NGOs, cultural organizations, municipalities, and a university.
EU Dance Hack is a 20-month long project devised by TaikaBox (FI), Central Europe Dance Theatre (HU) and Developing Art (RO). The objective of the project is innovation and it addresses the priority of international dimension. To find new directions and practical tools for performing artists and arts organisations working in the independent/freelance sector to navigate the increasingly unstable world, the partners focus on devising a unique Dance Hack residency method that brings international artists, education specialists, researchers and technology businesses to work together as equals in a practical and experimental way towards a common goal.
Please ASK! – Art Science Kick is a project bridging the realms of art and science. Designed to facilitate knowledge-sharing and artistic exchange, the initiative aims to build capacity and strengthen the competencies of the participating organizations to create impactful art-science theatre performances.
Beyond Fronta: Bridging Periphery (2023-2026) is a cooperation project co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. The project’s mission is to strengthen the contemporary dance scene in the Central European region by connecting and supporting dance actors – artists, managers, festivals and institutions. Three main areas of action to be tackled in the project: collaborative strategies, capacity building and sustainable cultural production in the region. Its priorities are supporting training, greater synergies, and the enhancement of regional visibility.
The EU Digital Deal project aims to explore how the digital shift and the sudden acceleration it brings, as well as cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, block-chain and algorithmic processes, have a direct impact on our European values and the integrity of our democratic systems.
The reimagination and of the relationship between the European and African continent is at the heart of the DECONFINING project. The project aims to develop a practice that facilitates sustainable international cultural exchanges between the two continents, and can serve as a reference point for similar initiatives in the future.
POT-VOT is a cooperation project of 5 project partners, which will bring poetry and contemporary poets closer to young people, teachers and local communities in all partner countries.
Panodyssey, the social media dedicated to creative writing. The main aim of the project is to create a platform where the users can directly share their content and even monetize it.
The Rivers2Communities projects main objective is to further strengthen cooperation between contemporary cultural and creative scenes of Hungary and Serbia and among the societies, citizens in the bordering region by focusing on our mutual cultural identity represented in the rivers.
The Geiseloper / Hostage opera is chamber opera composed by Gryllus Samu and directed by Brina Stinehelfer. Using the relationship between the 1973 Balassagyarmat hostage drama and the social reactions of the time as a model, the performance presents the role of the community in the development of traumas and its power in their processing, partly in an interactive form and based on documents in its textbook.
The Tragedy of Man by Imre Madách is one of the most outstanding and grandiose works in the history of Hungarian literature, which, with our initiative, is now embarking on a whole new journey in a new guise. The venue of our site&space-specific performance is the Városmajor Open-Air Stage and the surrounding, unused and forgotten park, which can be rediscovered by creators and participants as an inalienable part of the performance, and its “repertoire” can be expanded with new meaning and memories.
Christine Fentz the artistic leader of SECRET HOTEL have been always had an interest in creating an artistic piece connected to nature in order to give an experience of combining art and nature to the audience.
In October 2018, ianan Qu and his company created a performance related to Ludwig Musem’s „Westkunst-Ostkunst collection” in Budapest. Jianan Qu has been working with performances researching art spaces since 2015, where he examines the relationship between the artistic pieces, the exhibition hall and the viewers. Qu, the chinese artist, currently based in Vienna, turned the exhibition rooms of Ludwig Museum into a vivid, active space, and made an attempt to reinterpret the role of reception.
The JOURNEY / DROM is a collaborative theatre project with Roma and non-Roma artists and communities, in which an artistic platform to tell the stories of Roma, who went from the north of Serbia, through Hungary to Germany, is provided. What circumstances did they try to escape? Which difficulties did they face on their journey? What dreams did they have – and what happened in the end? Is there an end? For Roma coming from the Balkans, the route from Novi Sad via Budapest to Berlin is often the only gateway to seek asylum in Germany. Over 1050km are passed in overcrowded, broken cars – or even on foot; leaving behind their homes and familiar roots, hoping for a better life.
Stronger Peripheries is a large-scale cooperation project supported by the EU’s Creative Europe programme, gathering 14 partners, from 10 European countries. It acts within the performing arts sector through the creation of artistic productions, the training of creative and cultural workers, and the proposal of new cultural policies based on the promotion and assessment of participative practices. It is the inaugural project stemming from the Southern Coalition, an informal association that prompts cooperation between cultural agents based in the countries of the Mediterranean basin and the Balkans.
New Forms in Mixdoor Performing Arts Practices was a combined intercultural initiative, collaboration between art forms, artists and European countries. The four elements of the projects were the juggling and contemporary circus, vertical dance, 3D mapping and GPS-based human interface. We have made a performance structure with three stages, one outside and one inside performance linked to small, site-specific happenings on the way to the theatre. Our aim was to improve the contemporary art forms and to bring up the various arts as well as the people and continents around the globe. In 2014 it was was selected as a single Hungarian initiative by the European Commission Creative Europe Program.
On the 3rd Dunapest Festival, Pro Progressione introduced a unique theatre show. The Siding – Tram Theatre was an interactive play, which manifested on the route of one of the worlds nicest tram line, tram 2. The audience was sitting on the seats of the tram, while watching a fascinating love-triangle among other passengers – the actors.
Faust is the essence of German literature, which has been interpreted countless times, however it is almost impossible to keep it away from the stage, but it is equally an integral part of school literature classes. Faust, the eternally seeking individual who uses dark forces to reach a higher degree of understanding of human existence, make a deal with Mephistopheles, the devil who promises him eternal youth and the love of Grete in exchange for his soul.
As part of the Erasmus + Strategic Collaboration Program, our project – FeelMS – closed in 2018, with seven artists visiting Ancona in April as a guest at Sineglossa, a European pioneering organization for art and business. During the study tour, a new site-specific presentation was made as a presentation of the Ancona harbor in Hackaton format, led by Bálint Tóth, a representative of MeetLab.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the events of the Revolution 1956 we present the historical events in the reflection of contemporary art and eyewitness literature. The project includes a free outdoor installation and an indoor performance. It will be staged in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and also in several mayor cities worldwide. Spreading the personal history of the resistance agains the Soviet oppression in our region.
A fusion of dance, physical theatre and traditional folk songs from various regions of Slovakia. How does a boy become a man in today’s postmodern society?
“Original cultures differed from one another in many things; however, you won’t find a single culture on the planet that would not develop some form of transitional rituals between childhood and maturity. From this point of view is the present Western civilisation a complete anomaly.”
Beyond Fronta was one of the most important contemporary dance project in Middle-Europe, invited the countries and the dance communities of the region. Between 2008 and 2014 over 30 Hungarian and more then 150 internantional, mostly young dancers had the possibility for creation, knowledge-exchange and to get to know the dance-scene of the wider region. The project was selected by the European Commission as a “success story”, making it an exceptional good example for international cooperations.
Christine Fentz – the artistic leader of SECRET HOTEL – have been always had an interest in creating an artistic piece connected to nature in order to give an experience of combining art and nature to the audience. After the successful Walking Lecture on Ants, Secret Hotel now works together with Pro Progressione to create a participatory based theatrical piece focusing on bees.
Nowadays negative stereotypes, discrimination and racism are an increasing issue again in current Europe. Previous prejudices against Romas have not decreased as well as the issues with peaceful coexistence most parts of Europe has not been solved. After observing the situation a group of organizations from around Europe merged to join their artistic ideas and create a cultural project. A project, which aims to deconstruct negative stereotypes against Romas via a new approach.
Starting from the summer of 2017, Szabihíd (Bridge of Freedom) has been transformed into a common space for a few weekends, where city dwellers and visitors find a little holiday in the heart of the bustling capital. Szabihíd is an urban, public space developing and last but not least artistic experiment about the freedom of arts, sports and community programs. In addition, the series of events anticipates alternative uses of urban public space, brings people closer to the city and the river, builds community(s), and enables the presence of sustainable, democratic, co-created spaces in the city. The bridge is common, space is common, freedom is common. The Szabihíd project is a joint event of the Valyo – City and River Association and Pro Progressione.
A thick dark forest where anything could happen; where ordinary rules break up and relationships re-evaluate – this topos is the dramaturgical basis of Shakespeare’s drama, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In such a place, where strange events can only be limited by our imagination, the author can afford almost anything: the presence of magical beings, confusion of love threads, deformities of the characters – and so does Ambrus Ivanyos in his adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, made into a theatre adventure game directed by Máté Czakó.
Livin’ the City is an international collaboration that sprung from a handful of projects aiming to bring art to our public spaces, and accordingly, to create real community spaces in the city. These projects cover multidisciplinary creations and interactive games ranging from one-to-one performances to pieces and concerts addressing a wider audience. Our goal is to bring locals closer to each other and to their living spaces and to create a communal ubiety and attentiveness that is rarely present in today’s accelerated societies.
Held almost 30 times since 2014, Fototreff Berlin is one of the most successful, regularly held contemporary photography events in the German capital. Fototreff Berlin provides a space for critical dialogue in contemporary artistic and documentary photography, through a variety of approaches to authorship, image editing and presentation.
Tomas Danielis’ new choreography is titled The Game – referring back to Eric Berne’s successful book, “Games People Play”. Berne’s transactional analysis created has spread worldwide: not only effected on the theory of psychotherapy, psychology and communication, but it has also given rise to an effective new tool for analyzing organizations. The artist has began to deal with power games through this book, which has become one of the main area of his art research for years.
The Wood Valley project addresses the untapped potential of the wood craft and architectural heritage of the Danube areas. It seeks to draw attention to these sometimes forgotten places and historical monuments with an interdisciplinary (cooperation in between tourism experts, local wood construction craftsmen and artisans and cultural-artistic experts) approach.
RIVE responded to the question of the present and the future meaning of rivers. Historically rivers are not only a main source and centre of life, but carriers of meaning for human interaction. We traveled the length of the River Danube, inviting people from the Black Forest to the Black Sea to share experiences and values. Our floating venue offered a wide-ranging cultural program, exploring the connecting and dividing forces of the Danube and addressing cross-national issues. The New York Times titled the project: “Ambassadors of culture”.
The 17th International MitOst Festival took place in Budapest between 2-6 October 2019. The festival takes place every year in another country and it is organized around the annual members assembly. On this occasion MitOst invites its friends, members and everyone interested in cultural and civic exchange in Europe and its neighbouring regions to the International MitOst Festival, which event is always organised by the MitOst festival team of Berlin and the local team of the host country.
Pro Progressione has been organizer and collaborator of the MonoDance Festival since 2010, and in August of 2019 for the very first time the MonoDance Seoul Festival was held – also organized by Pro Progressione – as a co-festival of the Hungarian program.
Regarding the increased interest in “Tájékoztató” (*Informative* – book by the Hungarian author, Sándor Tar), Déri Museum started to think about to create an audio book from the text. In one hand, because many people prefer the acceptance of works in artistic interpretation; on the other hand, younger generations listen to a literary text sooner than they read it; and last but not least the audio book can reach many visually disabled readers by Tar’s writing. Following the increasing number of narrated performances in the theatres, museums also should provide their national heritage accessible to the disabled people.
We believe, that knowledge exchange and networking among art professionals is a key to foster international cultural projects. Thus we are not only participating at international conferences but we also often organize them. Pro Progressione has long experience in organizing professional conferences and workshops in different field of art and art management from 20 to 500 people.
We have unique events but we also combine them with other initiatives, such as festivals, exhibitions etc. These gatherings are often the starting points for longer collaborations, common cultural initiatives with our new partners.
Urban ParticipArt, a strategic partnership within the Erasmus + program, is a laboratory that develops innovative, culture-based participatory methodologies to engage civilians (especially young people) in urban remodeling. The concrete result of our hands-on research and joint experimentation will be the development of a participatory art toolkit for urban youth. The toolbox created during the project is a set of art tools based on the exchange of different creative methods and participation-based collaboration.
channeling » Art&Tech is a professional workshop and public lecture series, which brings creators together to find answers to the most important challenges in the contemporary art&tech world. The goal of channeling is to find and bring together creators who use technology creatively, and during the 4 professional workshops explore the possible vision of creative ideas, channel creators into the bloodstream of the art & tech world through networking, consulting and joint performances.
The “OPEN EUROPEAN SOCIETIES” brings together 12 partners from 8 countries, all committed to support migrant and refugee integration, community development, tackling xenophobia, discrimination and Hate Speech. The aim of the project is to eradicate the stigmatisation of migrants and refugees by helping the communities to overcome stereotypes and developing counter-narratives through video campaigns and interviews of third-country nationals – thus give more accurate insights into their situations and experiences.
